The use of applications, commonly referred to as “apps,” has become prevalent over the past few years. To meet this demand, several entities have developed services to enable users of mobile devices to download apps to such devices. For example, Apple, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. offers an interface to permit apps to be uploaded from app developers and for users to search, select and possibly purchase apps for download to Apple devices. As part of this process, the company offers a software development kit (SDK) to developers for guidance on creating these apps, and the apps must be approved by Apple before being made available to users. In addition, Apple shares with the app developers the revenue that is generated by the downloads. Other companies, such as Google, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif. and Research In Motion, Ltd., of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, also offer interfaces for developers to create and upload apps and for users to retrieve such software.
Thus, there are multiple companies that offer this service, and it is expected that the number of them doing so will increase. While this recent development has established a new platform for the delivery of software to a wide variety of mobile devices, general oversight of this process is lacking. This aspect can be particularly troublesome in an enterprise setting. For example, a company may be leery of allowing employees to access and download apps from these services onto its work devices because the employer has no control over the process. A similar concern exists in a personal or family environment because a parent will not have any control over his/her child's activities in this area. In fact, supervisory authorities, like employers and parents, have very little control over mobile devices that are distributed to their subordinates.